Concern
by Hetare My-kun
Summary: There is nothing but terror outside. His heart was beating rapidly, from watching the horror of the Titans mercilessly devouring innocent civilians and solders as quickly as more troops are sent out. He wished to get out and do something to help, but no, he was given a duty to guard the supply room. Even if he did want to go out, he simply didn't have the courage to leave.


Partially based on this prompt: [imagineyourotp].[tumblr] post/54445520119/tw-self-harm

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**Fandom: Pokémon (Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin crossover AU)**

**Rating: T (see warnings)**

**Pairing(s): ComaShipping, PyramidShipping (Ash x Brandon)**

**Warnings: blood, disturbing scenes, mild language, AoT/SnK spoilers for those who have not watched the anime/read the manga (or aren't caught up) [flashbacks]**

**Disclaimers: I own neither ****Pokémon nor Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin.**

**Ages: Ash- 15; Paul- 15; Brandon- mid-30s**

**A/N: Ash and Paul are Trainees, while Brandon is part of the Scouting Legion/Recon Corps.**

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As Ash looked out the window, he saw nothing but terror from outside. One moment, he heard someone scream, then the sound of blood splattering and bones crunching in the next. He was assigned to the supply squad to guard the gas tanks if there were any intrusions. He couldn't help but feel terrified. Terrified at the thought that he'll _surrender_ to a Titan. Terrified at the thought he'll be _bait_ for Titans. Terrified at the thought that he'll _die_ to a Titan. Ash did his best to calm himself down, only to find that his fear of the Titans got worse the more he thought about it. Paul, Ash's comrade, took notice of the dread written on Ash's expression.

"Something wrong?" Paul asked.

Ash turned to see Paul. He was sitting down next to Ash.

"Um, Paul?"

"Yes?"

"I'm worried. What if something goes wrong during the battle?"

"Everyone's worried. I'm sure that the majority of the troops will make it out alive. What's bothering you?"

"It's Brandon."

Paul stood silent for a moment when he heard the name.

"Wait. You don't mean..."

"Yes. The commander."

"What about him?"

"What if something happens to him? What if he gets killed? What if-" He stopped when Paul gripped Ash's shoulders.

"Calm down. He's the leader, so I'm sure he'll make it out."

"Really?"

"Yes. I mean it." Paul lets go of Ash's shoulders. He took notice of Ash's heavy sweating from his anxiety from earlier.

Everything just calmed down between the two until another soldier came down while yelling, "We need backup! We need backup! We're outnumbered!" Both of them turned to the direction of the noise.

"What happened?" Paul asked the exhausted soldier.

"The Titans... They broke into the supply room... We're short on troops," the soldier replied.

"Ash and I will head over to the supply room. You get backup," Paul ordered, as he was put in charge for the entire ordeal. "We'll handle the Titans from there."

The soldier ran off to warn the other soldiers in the building. Meanwhile, Ash and Paul ran to the supply room, concerned that the gas tanks were destroyed and that the majority of the troops guarding the supply room were either wounded or (most likely) killed and eaten.

By the time Ash and Paul arrived in the supply room, the other backup soldiers had already started fighting against the Titans. One group was handling two 7-meter class Titans, while two other groups held off two 5-meter class Titans. A 4-meter class Titan was approaching two injured troops.

"Let's handle the 4-meter Titan," said Paul as he ran to the Titan aiming for the injured duo. "It's close to attacking the injured."

"Roger," Ash replied.

They both launched themselves in their 3D Maneuver Gear. Ash sliced off one of the Titan's fingers when it grabbed his foot, then turned and cut its arm off. Paul weakens the Titan by cutting the back of its feet, then made the final blow on the back of the Titan's neck (the common weak spot for all Titans). The Titan, now dead, fell to the ground as Ash and Paul landed.

Both 5-meter classes, fifteen troops, and one 7-meter class were killed by the time Ash and Paul killed the 4-meter class.

"Hey. There's only one 7-meter class dead. What happened to the other one?" one of the soldiers questioned.

"Wait. There's two 7-meter classes even though we got one of them?" another one asked.

"I guess..." replied another soldier.

Ash heard footsteps and felt the ground shake. Footsteps that belong to a giant living creature. Footsteps that belong to a _Titan_. The footsteps got louder and more violent as it got closer to the group.

"It's coming," said Ash, his voice quivering in fear. "The Titan's coming."

As the Titan approached, it appeared with two corpses in its mouth. The corpses of two dead soldiers. The two dead soldiers of the backup team. Ash stood there, quaking at the sight of the dead soldiers as they were swallowed by the Titan that killed them. Three soldiers shoved Ash away from the 7-meter class and charged at it, only for it to snatch two of them and devour them. The remaining soldiers, except Ash, launched themselves and started attacking the 7-meter Titan. Ash, oblivious to the fight going on, was then hit by an unconscious soldier hurled by the Titan and Ash's view blacked out.

_-{flashback; 5 years ago}-_

_Everything was peaceful for Ash and his mother. The sun was bright, the sky was clear, and the fields swayed swiftly to the soft breeze._

_Ash was chasing Paul around. His mother was had just finished hanging the laundry and called Ash and Paul over to eat lunch._

_His mother was kind and caring. He would always help her with her daily chores and spend time with her. _

_Everything was calm and relaxing until that one day..._

_Ash's home was destroyed by Titans. The evening sky, now polluted with smoke from cannon fires, turned a crimson red. Debris from his home was scattered in many places, even crushing the bottom half of his now-dying mother. Ash and Paul try to help their mother out from the rubble._

"_Mom! You have to get up! Please!" the young raven-haired child begged._

_"Ash, I can't. My legs are stuck under the wood," his mother replied."I can't feel them. I can't move them, either."_

_"But Mom, please. I don't want you to die. Please," Ash once again pleaded._

_A soldier arrived and took Ash and Paul away. As Ash was dragged farther and farther from his dying mother, he watched in horror as a 15-meter class Titan picked up his mother and devoured her._

_"Moooooooooom!"_

_-{end flashback}-_

Ash's eyes snapped open. He shook his head to clear his mind, now fully aware of the ongoing fight between the troops and the 7-meter Titan. His eyes searched for Paul. He spotted a mauve-haired figure lying face-down unconsciously. Ash recognized the figure as Paul. He ran over to him and checked his pulse and heartbeat. Just like normal. Good. He's alive, Ash thought. Except for one thing, though...

Ash turned the unconscious body over. His expression changed when Ash took notice of the large injury left on Paul's face.

Ash frantically went around and searched for anything that could substitute as a bandage for Paul's wound (since he forgot to bring first aid supplies with him).

"Come on, come on. What am I supposed to use as a bandage for a large bloody scar?" Ash mutters under his breath as he continued searching.

As Ash searched, the Titan killed off most of the troops fighting it and inched itself closer and closer to the injured Paul.

Ash heard the Titan move closer to the unconscious Paul and used his Maneuver Gear to get to Paul as quickly as possible (without getting injured or killed) after gathering most of the items he needed to treat Paul's injury. The Titan then picked up the still-unconscious Paul and was about to bite the purple-headed soldier. Fortunately, with quick thinking, Ash threw a blade at one of the Titan's eyes, which made the 7-meter Titan drop the unconscious body. As the Titan was blinded by its painful piercing of one of its eyes, Ash took advantage of what little time he had by trying to get access to its weak point. After finding it, he then launches himself to aim for the back of the Titan's neck (quickly and precisely).

_Slash!_ Ash strikes on the Titan's weak spot. The only thing on Ash's mind now is whether Paul is alright or not. After the 7-meter class fell to the ground, Ash ran over to where Paul laid blacked out by the recent actions made by the now-dead 7-meter Titan. He turned Paul over on his back to tend his other injuries. As Ash was treating Paul's wounds, he thought back to the time he first met Paul.

_-{flashback; 7 years ago}-_

_Ash and his father were headed to the rivers to fish. The pathways lined with many deciduous trees and wooden cabins. The sky was cloudy and rained the entire way. On his way over to the river, his father went to visit Reggie, Paul's older brother and good friend of Ash's father._

_His father gently knocked on the door. Ash waited. No response. He knocked again. Silence. Ash's father then knocked the door a third time._

_"Reggie? Are you here?"" Ash's father questioned, hoping to hear his voice._

_Still no sound. Ash's father opened the door and took a step inside, only to find blood splattered on the floor and walls of the front room of the cabin, broken wood tiles, scattered debris, and a dark purple-haired corpse of what was supposed to be Reggie._

_"By God of Wall Maria, what happened?" Ash's father exclaimed, shocked about the bloody scene in front of him. "Wait, there's someone missing... Paul? Paul, are you here?"_

_"Who's Paul?" asked Ash, curious to know what his father had just blurted out._

_"He was supposed to be your fishing partner for today..."_

_"Hey, Dad? Can I go ahead and set up our stuff over at the river?"_

_Ash's father sighed. "Sure."_

_Ash ran out, brought his and his father's stuff, and started to follow the route leading to the river. For an unknown reason, Ash also brings a knife with him. After laying his and his father's fishing supplies, Ash attached the knife to his belt and wanders off on another path. On that path, he finds several footprints and a small trail of blood. The rain took a short break, so the blood and footprints didn't wash off much. By the time Ash reached the end of the path, he noticed that the footprints and blood led to a lone cabin in the middle of the forest. Ash walked up to the door of the cabin and cautiously knocked, knife carefully hid behind his back. A man opened the door and Ash tried hard to keep a good posture and look as innocent as possible in front of him._

_"Whadaya want, ya li'l runt?" the man asked._

_"I was sent by my dad's friend to get supplies. No harm done," was Ash's only response to the man. He glanced over the man's shoulder and took brief notice of a young purple-haired boy, all tied up and knocked out._

_"How 'bout _I_ get the stuff ya need?" How does that sound, eh?" the man asked._

_"Okay,"" replied Ash with an innocent look. ""Come closer and I'll tell you."_

_The man crouched down to Ash's height. Ash whispers the supplies needed for his fishing trip, while he also prepares to strike the knife into the man, who is unaware of Ash now realizing that he (along with a few others) kidnapped the mauve-haired boy and brought him here. As Ash whispers the last thing on his mental list of 'supplies', he stabs the man in the abdomen. The man, now dead, falls to the ground. Another man immediately took notice of the fallen corpse and turned around._

_"Hey, you!" the other man shouted. "Just whadaya think yer doin'?!"_

_"Just getting a few things!"" Ash yelled back._

_The other man started charging at Ash. Ash prepared his knife, now covered in blood, and strikes the charging man, who then falls to the ground. After killing the second man, Ash ran up to the mauve-headed boy and started to cut the ropes binding him. As soon as the purple-haired boy saw the knife, he struggled to break free as Ash tried to keep him still._

_"It's okay! I'm getting you out."" Ash told the mauve-haired boy. "I won't hurt you."_

_After Ash cut off the ropes binding the purple-head's hands and feet, the mauve-haired boy untied the gag tied tightly around his mouth. Suddenly, a hand gripped Ash by his collar and slammed him to the wall. The hand belonged to another man, who was slightly more brawny than the previous two, giving him an appearance that was somewhat intimidating._

_"Whacha tryin' to do here, ya filthy rat?!" blurted the man at Ash._

_Ash glanced over to the violet-haired boy and shouted, "Fight back!" to him. The mauve-haired boy stared at the knife dropped by Ash when he got slammed on the wall by the intimidating figure._

_"Fight back!" Ash yelled again as he struggled under the brawny man's grip. "You can't win if you can't fight back!"_

_"Shut yer mouth, rat!" the man blurted at Ash._

_The young violet-haired boy stood there, terrified, as he stared at the blood-covered knife now in his hand, then back at Ash, who was suffering from the agonizing hold of the muscular figure._

_"Fight back!" Ash shouted a third time._

_The phrase 'Fight back!' kept repeating itself in the young mauve-haired boy's head. He took some thought of those words._

_At the seventh 'Fight back!' comment, he finally reacted. The purple-head prepared his fighting stance, aimed for the muscled man, then launched himself, putting plenty of momentum in the launch that it broke part of the floor beneath him and killed the muscular kidnapper. The man, dead, released his grip on Ash and fell to the ground, his body limp._

_"You did it. You fought back," Ash told the mauve-haired boy._

_The purple-haired boy dropped the knife and grabbed Ash around his waist._

_"I'll... take that as a thank you."_

_Two hours later, back at Ash's cabin, Ash was scolded by his father for what he did back at the kidnappers' cabin. The rain had resumed from its quick break it took earlier._

_"Ash, what you did over there was just- You could have had yourself killed!" Ash's father scolded._

_"They were bad people who killed and took away other people," Ash told his father. "They don't deserve to live!"_

_"Yes, I know, Ash. But still-"_

_"I saved a person who could've suffered from a life of misery and prejudice! If it weren't for me, he would've been beat up by now!"_

_Ash's father sighed. ""Okay... But what are we supposed to do with this boy? He can't sit out here by himself."_

_"Then Ash came up with an idea._

"_Can we take him in, please?" Ash begged. "He'll be like my brother."_

_"Okay, we'll take him."" Ash's father agreed._

_Ash turned to the mauve-haired boy. ""I believe we haven't properly met. I'm Ash. What's your name?"_

_"Um... I'm... Paul," the mauve-haired boy murmured._

_Ash held out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Paul."_

_Paul took Ash's hand and gently shook it._

_"Nice to meet you too, Ash."_

_The two boys let go of their hands._

_"Achoo!" Paul sneezed. "Sorry. Must be the rain. It's cold, too."_

_Ash took his scarf off and wrapped it around Paul's head and neck._

"_Here. Better?" _

_"Yeah. Thank you."_

_-{end flashback}-_

Ash had just finished treating most of Paul's injuries. The only ones he had left are on his head and abdomen. However, as Ash was about to treat the last few wounds, a large shadow was cast over the two unsuspecting soldiers. Ash immediately took notice of the shadow (now realizing the shadow belonged to the hand of the Titan he killed earlier) and hauled Paul over on his shoulder (face down). He then launches his maneuver Gear and swiftly evades the Titan's hand. Ash lands on one of the ceiling beams of the supply room. How is that Titan still alive? Ash thought. Was my cut not deep enough? Or is it that the Titan might be an abnormal? Either way, it's not going to be easy doing it again.

Suddenly, Ash felt something crack from underneath him. Ash looked below him. Before he knew it, he noticed too late that the beam was too unstable to hold the weight of both him and Paul. The revived 7-meter class then took notice of Ash and the unconscious Paul when it heard their clumsy landing from the unstable ceiling beam. Ash was now unconscious from the plummeting fall he and Paul took from the now broken ceiling beam. Ash tried getting up, but with no success, due to the impact he took from the fall. His vision was blurring and causing him to hallucinate, giving the Titan the advantage of having two passed out soldiers for snack.

The 7-meter Titan picked up Ash. As it was about to take a bite off Ash, Ash groggily opened up his eyes (still recovering from his brief unconsciousness) and tried to escape the Titan's grip. When Ash about to spend his last minutes of what he'll become as food for the 7-meter class, he heard the sounds of other Maneuver Gear (three, to be exact), zipping by and slicing the Titan.

_Slash!_ The Titan's hand holding Ash got cut off. A figure appeared in the steam (from the Titan) as it landed on the ground. From where Ash was laying down, the figure approached Ash with the blades held in both hands. As the figure got closer, Ash was able to make out part of the figure, but still can't tell who it was (because of the steam from the Titan's injured parts and Ash's blurry vision). He was only able to make out the figure's feet. The figure crouched down and pinched Ash's cheek.

"Ow," Ash groaned after the figure pinched him. Ash rubbed his cheek, hoping to relieve the minor pain from it.

"Hey, kid, relax," said the figure. "We're only tryin' to round up this abnormal Titan."

Ash recognized that voice. It belonged to Byron, one of the troops assigned to Brandon's squad for the ongoing battle outside. Ash sat up, opened his eyes (now clear from the hazy vision from earlier), and shook his head.

"What are you doing here?" questioned the raven-haired soldier.

"We heard about your incident with the supply tanks," Byron explained. "So we decided to drop by and see what's going on."

"Wait a second. 'We'?"

"Yeah, Brandon and Palmer came along, too."

"What happened to the rest of the squad?"

"Either killed or missing in action. But most likely killed."

"Okay..." Ash shuddered when Byron said they were 'most likely killed.' "But why aren't you fighting now?"

"Well, _someone_ has to take care of the two beat-up troopers while the others distract that abnormal 7-meter."

"Okay, okay."

The Titan was occupied for a brief time. However, it managed to get a hold of one of the troops' wire of the Maneuver Gear. The Maneuver Gear that belonged to a blond-haired soldier. The Maneuver Gear that belonged to a blond-haired soldier in Brandon's remaining squad. The Maneuver Gear that belonged to Palmer, who happened to be a well-acquainted friend of Brandon.

Ash didn't know much about Palmer, other than him being the father of one of his former training partners back in the 151st Trainees Squad (he couldn't remember his name though) and one of the troops assigned to Brandon's squad (for the same purpose as Byron).

The Titan managed to yank down the wire, severely injuring Palmer and striking him unconscious. It then picked up the limp body and was about to consume Palmer until...

_Slash!_ A troop with grey hair cut the 7-meter class on the back of its neck (the same area where Ash cut earlier, except the cut was deeper). The Titan fell to the ground, releasing Palmer's unconscious body. The grey-haired soldier landed swiftly on the ground, his face carrying the usual scowl.

The steam emitting from the Titan's corpse filled the entire supply room. It was practically thick enough that barely anyone could see through it. The titan's steam was also hot enough to actually make Ash pass out. Paul and Palmer still lay unconscious. A few minutes later, the steam eventually cleared up.

_-{flashback; 5 years ago}-_

_Ash woke up, still trembling from witnessing the death of his mother. He looked around and noticed that he was in a dark room. The room that held Ash in was eerily silent. The only noise he heard was the nonstop downpour of the rain from outside. Suddenly, he heard footsteps._

_"Ash."_

_"Dad? Is that you?"_

_"Yes, it is. I have something to show you."_

_"What is it?"_

_"You'll see."_

_Ash's father came up to Ash and pulled out a syringe filled with a serum. Ash worried about his father. Since the time Ash's mother died, his father was acting delusional towards Ash._

_"Dad, what are you doing to me?"_

_Ash's father takes Ash's left arm and injects the serum in it. Ash's eyes started to form tears, mostly from worry and fear of his out-of-character father._

_"It's the truth. this serum here is the truth about the Titans. It'll cause you to have temporary memory loss, but trust me. Use these powers wisely and efficiently. Take this."_

_Ash's father hands him something. He opens his hands to show what his father gave him. _A locket_, Ash thought. Ash opens the locket. It contained a few letters and numbers scrawled on the inside._

_"Dad, what is this?"_

_Ash turned around. He looked around the area surrounding him, but his father was nowhere to be seen from the raven-haired boy's eyes. His father vanished without a trace._

_"Dad?"_

_-{end flashback}-_

"Dad... Dad... Dad, where did you go?" Ash groaned in his sleep.

"Wake up." a voice called. "Ash, wake up."

Ash was immediately snapped off from his dream and opened his eyes. He was blinded by a bright light, causing his vision to blur, but cleared up as soon as he saw the grey-haired soldier. He was also sitting beside him, his expression stoic. The soldier was gazing at the Titan's steaming corpse. Ash moaned as he tried to sit up, his head still woozy from the Titan's steam. Ash recognized the soldier.

"Brandon?" Ash muttered.

"Hm?" The grey-haired soldier's gaze turned to Ash.

"What... happened?" Ash asked himself. "I feel so... light headed..."

"You passed out," Brandon explained.

"Oh," said Ash, dumbfounded.

"Ash?"

"Yes?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Why are you asking me this?"

"You were muttering 'Dad' in your sleep."

"Oh... You heard that?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Ash facepalms himself. "So... Where are Paul, Byron, and Palmer at?"

"Don't change the subject."

Ash sighed. "Okay. I had a weird dream about my dad. He injected a liquid into my arm, then he told me that it's the truth. After that, he gave me a locket and disappeared." Ash explained.

"The truth about what?"

"The Titans, I think. My dad also gave me a locket. I think he meant..."

Ash searched for the locket, but he couldn't find it. "Strange. I know I have it here somewhere..."

Brandon took something out from his jacket. He showed Ash of what was supposed to be a locket. "This one?"

Ash stared at the locket, then back at Brandon. "Wait... How did you..."

"It was lying out on the ground when you were still unconscious."

"Don't tell me you looked inside..."

"Relax. I didn't open it." Brandon held the locket to Ash. "Here."

Ash took the locket from Brandon. He opens the locket, only to see that the locket had the same hastily written letters and numbers Ash saw in his 'dream'.

"What does it mean?" Ash questioned, skeptical of the letters and numbers scrawled in the locket.

"It could be a code." Brandon suggested.

"Maybe," Ash replied. "So... Oh, I almost forgot. Where are Paul, Byron, and Palmer at, anyway?"

Brandon sighed. "Palmer and Byron are off to get supplies. Paul's still out, though."

"Okay..." Ash replied. "Where's Paul at?"

Brandon pointed to the other side of the room. Paul has been unconscious for a while now, so Ash went over there to check on him. Brandon went with him.

"Paul. Paul, are you alright?!" Ash shouted as he tried shaking him awake.

"Ack... What happened...?" the mauve-haired soldier mumbled as he woke up from unconsciousness.

"Paul~! Thank Wall Rose, you're all right!" Ash exclaimed gleefully as he crawled over to hug the purple-haired soldier. Paul simply eyed Brandon with a confused expression.

"Brandon?" Paul questioned. "Ash? How did you-"

"It's a long story," Brandon interrupted.

"What happened while I was out?" Paul asked.

"We'll tell you after we get Byron and Palmer," Brandon explained.

"Well?" said Ash as he hauls Paul on his back. "Let's go!"

Ash grabs Brandon's hand and takes the two soldiers out of the partially damaged building.

END.

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**A/N:** That didn't exactly fit the prompt... Oh well... Give me some feedback because I want to improve on my writing skills.


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